Assignment # 1: Literature Review / Proposal

A large and growing number of Canadian children are living in households headed by lone parents. The impact of lone-parenthood on the well-being of children is a critical research and public policy issue facing Canadian society. The growth in lone-parent families has been one of Canada's most significant social trends. In 1995 there were over 1.1 million lone-parent families, representing an increase of 60 percent from 1981 . In 1996, 14.5 percent of Canadian families were headed by lone parents, of whom 84.1 percent were lone-mother families . It is also likely that many Canadian children will experience life in a lone-parent family at some point during their childhood. Canadian estimates suggest that one quarter of Canadian teens have known life with a lone parent.

Having lived in a lone parent family (lone-mother family), this is an issue, which I feel that I can contribute my own empirical knowledge to. The aim of this paper is to further my knowledge of the subject by discussing how the selected literature will relate further studies of this topic. In addition, this paper will propose a question re

lated to this literature for an additional research paper examining lone parent families.

Parsons closes her discussion by explaining how her findings can be accounted for in terms of certain compositional differences such as family origin, income or how long children have lived in these family structures. She also states that all families (two-parent or lone-parent) are also affected by these differences. And that, because the number of lone-parent families is on the rise, a child is less alienated amongst their peers, and some lone-parent families may actually benefit while living in this type of family structure.

The article begins by discussing the rise in number of lone-parent families in the Netherlands since World War II, explaining that the same has happened in other European nations. At the same time there has been a change in the causes of lone parent families. In 1947, 47 percent of Dutch lone parent families originated from the death of one of the partners, 31 percent from divorce and 9 percent for unmarried couple; in 1985 these percentages had changed to 17 percent from death, 53 percent from divorce and 15 percent from unmarried couples. Dronkers states that this would be accountable to the increased flexibility of the marriage laws.

Gordan uses several tables and graphs concentrated on school absence rates, regression of GCSE results, characteristics of absence rates as well as, regression of lone-parent families and GCSE results. Gordan concludes that, it is in fact, "the migration of lone parents toward areas whose housing stock, services, employment opportunities and accessibility by public transport offer lone-parents a worthy advantage...however combine this with local circumstances (of the inner city), attitudes and practices risks are increased for these children." Therefore, has little to do with the structure of the family itself.

The next article, titled "The Changing Effects of Lone Parent Families on the Educational Attainment of Their Children in a European Welfare State" by J.Dronkers was found in Sociology Vol. XXVIII No.1, was printed in February 1994.

The objectives of Gordan's research were to examine the success rates and socio-economic characteristics of inner city children to evaluate the contributions of social, economic and schooling factors in relation to the inne

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dronkers Parsons, London England, Literature Review, Statistics Canada, War II, Studies Parsons, European Welfare, XXVIII No1, Reading UK, lone parent, lone-parent families, Using GCSE, parent families, lone parent families, inner city, family structure, educational attainment, children lone-parent, children lone-parent families, lone parents, educational attainment children, canadian families, lone mother, socioeconomic achievements children, families socioeconomic achievements,
Approximate Word count = 1581
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)